(LifeSiteNews) — With one voice the Patriarchs and Heads of Churches in the Holy Land have condemned the “unjust foreclosure” of property owned by the Orthodox Armenian Patriarchate in Jerusalem being pursued by the city’s local municipality.
“The actions taken against the Arminian Patriarchate, based on an unverified and exorbitant Arnona Tax debt, are legally dubious and morally unacceptable,” the prelates of the many Christian churches asserted in a joint statement.
“It is inconceivable that Christian institutions, whose mission for centuries has been to safeguard faith, serve communities, and preserve the sacred heritage of the Holy Land, should now face the threat of property seizure under Israeli administrative measures that disregard due process,” the release continued.
The bishops and church heads charged the Municipality of Jerusalem with attempting to “enforce a debt determination without judicial scrutiny, and in defiance of the governmental committee established to negotiate such matters in good faith.”
They go on to warn that this “reckless move” not only threatens the Orthodox Armenian Patriarchate but threatens Christian institutions throughout the Holy Land.
“The targeting of one Church is an assault on all, and we cannot remain silent while the foundations of our Christian witness in the land of Christ’s ministry are shaken,” the prelates exclaimed.
They went on to call upon Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and other Israeli ministers to “immediately intervene, freeze all foreclosure proceedings, and ensure that negotiations resume within the above-mentioned governmental committee in order to reach to an amicable solution regarding this issue in the spirit of justice.”
An urgent appeal released by the Armenian Patriarchate itself on Tuesday provided greater detail emphasizing the importance of a hearing scheduled for Monday, February 24 to review an administrative petition against the Jerusalem Municipality.
“Should the petition be denied, not only will the Municipality be permitted to immediately resume foreclosure on specific properties, but it will also establish a dangerous legal precedent that could legitimize the expropriation of property rights and the involuntary liquidation of assets belonging to Christian religious institutions and communities in Israel,” the Patriarchate warned.
“This is a clear attempt by the Municipality to undermine the Armenian Patriarchate through singling it out with economic pressure, with the aim of diminishing its presence in the Holy Land,” the Armenian church wrote.
Christian leaders in the Holy Land have repeatedly appealed for help from their Christian brethren around the world, warning that radical Jewish groups were involved “in a systematic attempt to drive” them “out of Jerusalem and other parts of the Holy Land.”
An April 2023 statement by the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, observed “the frequency of these attacks, the aggressions, has become something new,” since Netanyahu’s government was sworn into office in December of 2022, incorporating extremist Jewish leaders as part of the majority coalition.
A report from Axios at the time called Netanyahu’s coalition “the most right-wing government” in the nation’s history, including powerful minsters who espouse “racist and Jewish supremacist” views.
This includes Itamar Ben-Gvir and his Jewish Power party, who during his election victory speech in 2022 praised fellow party member Bentzi Gopstein, who refers to Christians as “blood sucking vampires” and “the Christian church” as “our deadly centuries-old enemy” while calling for the expulsion of all Christians from the country.
The Armenian Patriarchate emphasized that this move against their presence is an attack upon their “long-standing mission in the Holy Land, which has been active since the 7th century. Further it could threaten the continued presence of the Armenian community in the Holy Land, which dates back to the 4th century,” while establishing a means to seize the property of other Christian institutions as well.
The Patriarchs and Heads of Churches include representatives from Catholic rites including Latin, Greek, Syrian and Armenian, along with Orthodox churches including Greek, Armenian, Coptic, Syrian, Maronite, and Ethiopian. Also included is the Franciscan head of Custody of the Holy Land, along with the heads of the local Anglican and Lutheran ecclesial communities.
We desperately urge you to share yet another Urgent Communique. Targeted and crippling taxes against the religious entity of the Armenian Quarter of Jerusalem are being unjustly levied. This crushing threat can become a precedent set against ALL Christian Communities of Jerusalem pic.twitter.com/1ZH7sScmvE
— Armenian Patriarchate Of Jerusalem (@ArmenianQuarter) February 18, 2025
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